LCC Daily Devotions

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

Jesus tells His disciples there will be trouble in this world. We can see trouble all around us; tragedy, disaster, even relationship trouble. With trouble comes questions, particularly the “why” questions. “Why me?” “Why is God not doing anything about it?” These troubles can isolate us; make us feel as if no one else is experiencing what we are going through. Did Jesus experience trouble? The answer is yes. He endured much trouble. He faced betrayal by His friends. He faced physical abuse on the cross. He even asked for a different outcome. And he faced abandonment by the Father. Jesus endured much trouble, but notice Jesus tells the disciples He has overcome the world. He rose after defeating death. We can take comfort in knowing Jesus does not let us go on the road alone.

Jamie Whitmore was a born athlete. Her whole life she was involved in sports, and had a track scholarship to college. In 2002 she began exterra racing, and over the next six years won 37 championships including the World Championships in 2004. She is the most successful female the sport has ever seen. Jamie was diagnosed with cancer in 2008, causing her to lose the use of her lower left leg. After all her treatments, she was told she would never be able to have children due to the radiation. But Jamie proved that wrong, giving birth to twin boys. She was also told she would never run or ride again, but she was determined to get back to exterra racing. Jamie won the National Championships as a Para Cyclist. She endured trouble that could have taken her dream away, but she overcame her trouble by fighting through it. There were many days filled with pain and darkness, so Jamie continued to remind herself that God gives her strength. Her faith was the only thing that got her through. She does not always understand His plan for her, but she believes she is powered by God to overcome any trials that come her way.

God does not promise a life without trouble. In fact, He says that in this world there will be trouble. But God can use that trouble and turn it into something good. With Jamie’s cancer, He was able to use that to inspire others, especially her twin boys. They will grow up knowing that they can overcome obstacles and chase their dreams. One day we will not only overcome our trouble, but the trouble of sin in this life. When Jesus comes again we will have peace knowing that His grace helped us overcome the trouble, and brings us to eternal life. Does God allow trouble to happen? The answer is yes, but He is not the cause of it. Sin is. And someday we will be free of sin and all the trouble it brings. So take heart because we will overcome this world, and rise just as Jesus did.

Prayer
Lord God, Thank You for walking on the road with us and never letting us be alone. Help us to grow from, and overcome, any trouble. Amen

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:1-2

In a once thriving community outside of Sacramento, a woman named Joy puts her faith into action. After an air force based closed the community was struggling economically. She originally wanted to lead a women’s Bible study in the community, but after seeing the needs she helped with much more. Joy worked with the kids in an after school program assisting them with their homework. She helped provide clothes and meals for the community. And she prayed for the community. Though she would rather be home reading a book, she felt the needs of the community pulling her outside of herself. In a place where there were gangs, child prostitution, and much struggle, the community is now looking brighter with the help of God’s people showing compassion. Joy does not want the people of Logan Park to feel forgotten, but rather loved and cared for.

Paul tells us in Romans that the Christian life is one of sacrifice. We dedicate our lives to God because we are moved by the love God has shown us. God sacrificed His only son Jesus, so that we may have eternal life with Him. He has shown us mercy and compassion. As we continue reading in Romans, Paul tells us that we are all gifted with different talents, which should be used to show love to others. All of our gifts are important to the body of Christ. Joy dedicates her life to God by showing compassion to the people in Logan Park. She has been moved by the love of God to show love to others. Just as Christ invested His life in us, Joy invests her life in the people of Logan Park. She continues to be a presence to them bringing mercy, compassion, and love.

Prayer
Lord God, we thank You for investing Your life in us. You have shown us mercy, compassion, and love. Please help us to use the talents that You have given us to show Your love and compassion to those around us. Amen

Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the Founder and Perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:1-3

Abbey Dagostino, a 2016 Olympic runner, was racing in the 5,000 meter when she stumbled over another runner who had fallen. Nikki Hamblin, from New Zealand, was helped up by Dagostino, but later helped Dagostino up after she fell from injuring her self when she tripped over Hamblin. It was a race of Olympic spirit. Dagostino said the spirit of God was working in them as they helped each other through the race. Despite Dagostino’s injuries, and the loss of time helping one another up, the women finished the race, keeping their eyes on the goal ahead.

God tells us to keep our eyes on the goal and run the race. The race may be filled with hardships. We may stumble and fall. We may get hurt. The scripture reminds us of the hardships Jesus endured. Christ endured being beaten, laughed at, shamed, betrayed. But through all of that, Jesus kept His eyes on the goal. He finished the race, so that we could have His grace. Our race may involve struggles and joy. May we keep our eyes on the goal through it all. Like Dagostino and Hamblin helped one another through their race, we too have the body of Christ to help encourage, strengthen, support, and share our struggles and joys while we run our race. So lace up those running shoes, keep your eyes on the race ahead, and with the endurance God has given you, run your race.

Prayer
Lord God, we thank You for the grace that You have given us. Please help us to keep our eyes on the goal ahead, and run the race to the finish line. May we help one another to stay encouraged, strong, and supported. You have shown us how to continue on even when there are struggles to be endured. May we continue on through the struggles also. Amen

Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses. Proverbs 27:6

The word ‘correction’ is not one we are always comfortable with. It sometimes recalls memories of glaring parents and painful consequences. Or we think of the risk of destroying a relationship rather than the possibilities of strengthening and enriching it. ‘Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.’ We all need someone to tell us the truth because others have 20/20 vision where we have blind spots. Yes, someone may react defensively, but they may also be thrilled to realize you care more about their ultimate well-being than their immediate response to you. Corrections made from a loving spirit, not a self-righteous, ‘I-know-what’s-best’ attitude are usually well received. If others sense you are genuinely concerned for them and long for a better relationship, they are likely to consider what you have to say and be open to making changes. Think of the courage Nathan the prophet showed in confronting David over his sin with Bathsheba. As king, David held the power of life and death over him. But Nathan loved David too much to allow sin to rob him of his destiny. God often uses us in each other’s lives to restore us to the narrow yet rich paths of destiny that He has preordained. Looking back, David could say,‘Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept thy word’ (Psalms 119:67). There are times when wisdom says, ‘Mind your own business and stay out of it.’ And there are other times when wisdom says, ‘Because you love them, get involved.’

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Philippians 4:6

As the summer is coming to an end, we are getting ready for a new season filled with new experiences. Perhaps we are off to college. A new year, with new professors, harder classes, and new roommates. Perhaps we are beginning high school. We are the fresh meat on campus. Or perhaps we are parents sending our children off to kindergarten. We might be starting a new job. Whatever new experience we are facing, anxiety usually comes with it.

The anxiety causes us to worry about things that we do not have control over. What if the professor is challenging? What if he assigns too much homework? What if there is no one in our classes that we know? What if our child has a difficult time making friends on the first day? What if our new job is not what we were expecting? There is little we can do about these situations. Worrying is not going to help. Paul tells us to present our request to God. We are to give our worries to Him. God has the control. We are filled with sin and doubt, while God is filled with love and grace. We can find comfort in knowing that God who is all powerful and mighty has the control. There are many things that are uncertain in our lives, but we have the certainty of our future in Christ. We know that God sent His only son so that we may have eternal life. That is comforting to know during our time of worry. God wants us to give our worries to Him because He loves us and is in control. So let’s begin a new season casting our worries on God who is the one in control.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank You for giving us the certainty of our future in You. Please help us to not be anxious for all the new experiences coming our way. May You take any worry and fear that we have, and help us get through all that we are facing. Amen

‘Thomas said to Him, “Lord we don’t know where You are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’ John 14:5-6

In his community, a mountain stood in the way of safe and efficient travel. After his wife fell on the dangerous terrain, Dasrath Manjhi decided to build a path through the mountain. With simple tools he spent nearly twenty years building the road. The children used to walk eight kilometers to school, now it takes them three kilometers. The road is used by people from over sixty villages, and allows them to have safe and efficient travels. When the government would not care for the community, Manjhi showed compassion.

We see Manjhi’s earthly road that he built for the community, inspired by the love he had for his wife. Christ too had the desire to build a pathway for the community. The pathway He built is the path that leads to eternal life. Jesus tells us in John 10:9-10, “I am the gate, whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in, and go out, and find pasture. The thief only comes to steel, and kill, and destroy. I have come so that they may have life, and have it to the full.” Jesus is the pathway to the Father. We cannot get to Him, without Jesus. Christ is the truth of all we find in the Father. He is the life that we are blessed with, which comes from the Father. The thief attempts to steer us away from God, create stumbling blocks, and tries to make us fall and hurt ourselves. But Christ is the pathway that keeps us safe, and He brings us to the Father, giving us truth and life. So rather than hike on the dangerous terrain, may we step onto the pathway that keeps us safe, and gives us life.

Prayer
Good Shepherd, we thank You for giving us the pathway that leads to truth and life in the Father. Thank You for showing us compassion, and for keeping us safe from the devil and dangerous terrain. Amen

The Lord God put the man in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. Genesis 2:15

It is easy to complain about work. We may feel under appreciated, disappointed with our job, overwhelmed, or simply unmotivated. Though we may often feel this way, work is a blessing. Before the fall into sin, Adam was placed in the garden to work it and take care of it. God intended us to work before the fall. Once sin entered the world, work became frustrating. God told Adam it would be by the sweat of his brow that he would eat. Though work is now challenging, God gives us the talents and gifts to use in our vocation of work. As we work we are able to serve God and our neighbor. It is a blessing to work, and as we work we bless others. God continues working through us and providing for us.

God works through us to serve Him and our neighbor. Whether our work is being a doctor, cook, cleaner, teacher, engineer, administrator, farmer, etc., we can serve our neighbor and use the gifts and talents the Spirit gives us. Those gifts and talents are used for the common good. 1 Corinthians 12:4-6 says, “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.” We all belong to the body of Christ and play an important role in it. It is our responsibility to take care of the resources God has given to us, and to use them respectfully. We can appreciate all the different jobs that are done. The farmer who grows the food, the driver who transports it, the cashier who checks us out at the store. The janitor who keeps the facility clean. The nurse who takes care of us when we are in the hospital. The babysitter who keeps the kids safe and allows the parents to have a night out. Our jobs, though sometimes they feel small, overwhelming, disappointing, or difficult, are all important and help everything work together. Our Christian love should be at the center of whatever we are doing. As we use our time, talents, and resources we are serving God and our neighbor. So get to work, there is work to be done. The Lord’s work is our greatest task.

Prayer
Lord God, we know You have intended us to work. We thank You for the gifts and talents You have given us to serve You and our neighbors. May You help us find motivation to work as hard as we can, and to work with Christian love. Thank You for always providing for us. Amen

“Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” Ephesians 4:32-33

In our lives we experience situations that leave bitterness in our hearts. Perhaps a loved one was killed, or abused, or wronged in some way. Or perhaps a wrong was done personally to us. We can be wronged in friendships, relationships, and by complete strangers. We can probably think of several times when something occurred in our lives that left us feeling terribly angry or hurt. Hebrews 12:15 says, “See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.” This means that God’s grace has been given to everyone, including those who hurt us. Luke 6:28 says, “bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” As if the healing process was not hard enough, now we are commanded to pray for those who have mistreated us. Where to begin? First, we know that we need Christ in everything we do. It is in Him that we have faith, hope, and love. We have faith in the one true God who gives us grace and forgiveness. He gives us hope by which we know one day life will not have hurt and bitterness. And He loves us, so much that He suffered and died for our salvation, and He encourages us to love our neighbors as ourselves. It is incredible to think how much we sin and hurt God every day, yet He forgives us and loves us. Prayer is a good place to begin. We are not alone. Christ is with us, and He hears every prayer. He hears us when we cry for help, when we are struggling, and when we are afraid to let go. Holding on to those bitter feelings only keeps us feeling bitter, and where is the peace in that? Forgiving is not forgetting. It does not exempt the broken trust, nor does it repair the relationship. But it gives the hurt and broken feelings over to God, which then allows us to be at peace instead of harboring bitterness. Louis B. Smedes, the author of The Art of Forgiveness, said, “Forgiving does not erase the bitter past. A healed memory is not a deleted memory. Instead, forgiving what we cannot forget creates a new way to remember. We change the memory of our past into a hope for our future.” The weight of the hurt can be lifted, and we can feel peace and hope. The chains of that bitterness can set our hearts free, and allow us to have compassion as Jesus tells us to. Smedes also said, “To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.” Christ set us free from sin when He went to the cross and poured out His grace and forgiveness. We are able to set others, as well as ourselves, free from the hurt in our hearts when we forgive. God gives us faith, hope, and love, which we are able to spread once our hearts are free from bitterness.

Prayer
Lord God, it is tough when we struggle with the pain in our heart from others and ourselves. Help us to forgive one another as You have forgiven us. Help us to pray for and love those who have hurt us. Amen

“For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you? For you are our glory and joy.” Philippians 2:19-20

Have you ever looked for everlasting happiness? Maybe you thought, if I could just have the perfect relationship; or a new house; or a raise at work; or a tropical vacation. As Christians we know we cannot find that everlasting happiness. Prosperity is foolish to seek for happiness. Why is this? Trying to have all of our desires met, so that we can have everlasting happiness focuses on the self rather on God. It becomes all about “me”.

C.S. Lewis said our bodies are created by God, like humans created cars. We need fuel to keep us going. But that fuel does not come from being successful, or any earthly desires. But rather, that fuel is God. God keeps our spirits going. Satan will do anything to pull us away from God. He tells us to focus on ourselves, on our wants, desires, successes, to find happiness.

So how do we find happiness then? We look at what Jesus has told us inMatthew 5:1-12. He tells us to be poor, persecuted, meek, and mourning. It is denying the self, and focusing on Him. The eternal life that God has promised us will bring us much more than happiness; it will bring us everlasting joy. C.S. Lewis said, when we give up our self, we will find it. When we give up our life, we will save it. When we give up our wishes, we will find eternal life. We need to keep back nothing. When we do this happiness will follow.

Jesus said to the people, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t be stumbling through the darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.” John 8:12

“Romans and Christians,” is the name of a game I used to play with a youth group I helped out with while I was in college. The game was played in the church with the lights turned off. One person hid somewhere with a flashlight, and they were called the light. The youth were the Christians, while the adults were the Romans. The Christians goal was to find the light without being captured by the Romans. If captured, they were taken to jail and were only allowed to leave if they recited certain Bible passages or verses, or if a freed Christian snuck in the jail and tagged them. A simple game, but without the lights it was challenging for the Christians because they were not aware that there were Romans hiding around corners, ready to tag them. Sometimes it would take up to an hour for all the Christians to gather around the light. But once around the light, they were able to see, and the fear of being captured went away.

The people listening to Jesus did not know Him because they did not know His Father. The darkness did not allow them to see clearly. Perhaps after Christ’s death and resurrection some people listening would come to know Him and His Father. For what Jesus had been saying while on the earth, was proven once He rose from the dead. He conquered sin, death, and the devil. He showed the world that He is indeed the Son of God. His crucifixion brought forgiveness for everyone, and His resurrection showed the light. When we follow Christ we have the light to guide us, and we are able to see the sin around us. Jesus promises that with Him as our light we have life. We may struggle with sin daily, but we know the Father sent Jesus to die on the cross for our forgiveness. Because of that we have the light, and the wonderful promise of eternal life. Darkness no longer has a hold on us. Just as the youth group gathered around the light, safe from being captured, we too gather around the light, knowing that Christ has us, not the darkness.

Prayer
Lord God, thank You for being the Light that gives us light. It is comforting to know that we will not stumble into the darkness, but live a life with You. Help us to share this promise with others. Amen